Ramming case for rockets in rifled naval guns



June 6, 1961 o. THALMAN ET AL 2,986,974

RAIVhv'IING CASE FOR ROCKETS IN RIFLED NAVAL GUNS Filed Sept. 15, 1958 2Shets-Sheet l lllHlH Q L w Q 9' f :D a?

T E a LL. m su l Il b IN VENTORS.

fj oTTo THALMAN 05) n JAMES l.. wALTHALL.,JR. GERALD I .HEMPFLINGORNEYS.

June 6, 1961 o. THALMAN ET AL 2,986,974

RAMMING CASE FOR RocKETs 1N RIFLED NAVAL GUNS Filed sept. 1.5, 1958 zshams-sheet 2 16N I0 l0 D N E g3 E N m. m E;

A U U N N H '0* -N u.. 2| u. o N -N In I O N gm r 3| ji EN 2B 9 CD N 97* INVENTORS. o :f2 oTTo T HALMAN In JAMES wALTHALL JR.

GEA/LD L. HEMPFLING l M* BY f. J

A RNEY5.

Uetsd tStaffa The invention described herein may be manufactured andused by or for the Government of the United States of America forgovernmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon ortherefor.

This invention relates to a case to be used in the launching of rocketsfrom closed breech ried Navy guns.

Heretofore, it has been customary on ships to launch rockets from openended tubes carried entirely for that purpose. This invention eliminatesthe need for the open ended tubes and uses the normal breech loadingrie.

The object of the present invention is to provide a case tting the usualbreech loading rille and adapted to receive the end of a rocketprojectile to be launched, both protecting the breech from the explosivegases of the rocket and providing a mount for the rocket to insure it aproper position in the rie and a proper centering with relation to theelectrical tiring pin.

It is a further object to provide a case for a self propelled rocketwhich when once used to re the rocket from a breech loading gun may bereused without reworking.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a case topermit iiring of a self-propelled rocket from a breech loading rillewhich will upon mounting the rocket in the case, unshort the rocket andprovide a connection which again shorts the rocket through the gun, theaction of the tiring pin, breaking the short and forming the electricalconnection for igniting the rocket.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this inventionwill be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood byreference to the following detailed description when considered inconnection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal broken section of the case showing theelectrical connection with the rocket;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal section of the electrode rod, a part of thecase, and including the unshorting pin; and

FIG. 3 is a section of the rocket showing the short circuit with the pinin rupturing position.

Referring to the drawings, a rocket is partly shown. Ihe rocket per seis no part of the invention and only that portion of the rocket which isconnected to the case is illustrated. The type of rocket is that used byweather men for determining the velocity of the upper air, atapproximately 100,000 feet. It is formed with the usual head containinginstruments or radar responsive dust which at the desired height isreleased and tracked from ground instruments, and a booster having theusual explosive necessary to propel the rocket with electrical partsnecessary to ignite it. The base of the booster end 8 is collared at 10and fitted to a bushing 12 which in turn is threaded into a sleeve 14which is part of the case.

Electrical wires 16 and 18 are connected to an igniter (not shown) inthe booster and for safety purposes connected to a shorting plug 20.Referring particularly to FIG. 3, the plug 20 is bored at 22, the borebeing enlarged at each end to form a threaded case well 24 and a smoothwalled rocket end well 26. The bore 22 is tapered at 28 toward the casewell 24. A hollow insulating plug 30 receives the wire 16 which passesthrough the insulating plug. A washer 31 terminates the wire 16 which isthen secured to an easily fractured rod 32, in

atentjO n y 2,986,974 `lalxel'ttetl June 6, 19l61l,

. 2 turn connected to the plug 20. A metal collar 34 secures theinsulating plug 30 to the shorting plug by bolts 36dw1hich also supporta brace 38 holding the wires 16 an 8.

The well 24 toward the case is interiorly threaded at 40 to receive athreaded projection 42 of the web 44 which is part of the case 46. kInthe act of attaching the rocket to the case the shorting plug is screwedon the projection 42, details of which will be further described.

The case 46 is similar to an ordinary shell case with a cylindrical wall48 and a base 50. Fitted into the open end of the shell is a cylindricalcap, the closed end of which forms the web 44. This cap is interiorlythreaded to receive the shorting plug housing sleeve 14 which carriesthe bushing 12 and is formed with an opening 52 to permit access to theshorting plug during the fitting of the rocket to the case.

The base `50 of' the case is formed with a threaded central opening 54receiving a hollow plug 56 which is interiorly threaded to receive athreaded ferrule 58. The electrical ring pin of the gun is centered onthe central opening of the case base and upon firing engages the pin end60 of a shorting piece 62 which is formed at the other end with a socket64. Between the pin and socket ends of the shorting piece 60 there is anannular collar 66. Seated on an interior annular shoulder 68 of the plug56, a washer 70 forms an electrical connection between the shortingpiece 60 and the plug 56 through contact between the annular collar 66of the shorting piece 60 and the annular raised ridge 72 of the washer70. This contact is broken by the tiring pin (not shown) of the guncontacting the end of the shorting piece 60 and moving the shortingpiece, comprising the coil spring and breaking the contact between theridge 72 and the collar 66. A coil spring 74 encircling the socket endof the shorting piece bears against the annular collar 66 and normallyholds the collar 66 in contact with the collar 72.

A connecting rod 76 is carried by the hollow plug 56 in a manner topermit limited longitudinal movement. The rod 76 is mounted in a sleeve78 held in the hollow plug 56 by the threaded ferrule `58 and has at oneend a projecting pin 80 seated in the socket 64. The rod 76 is supportedby the web 44 and has aixed to its other end a rupturing pin 82. Thispin 82 extends through the threaded projection 42, insulated from theweb 44 by the insulating sleeve 90, and into the shorting plug 20 wherethe threading of the plug 20 onto the projection 42 causes the pin toshear the rod 32, thus unshorting the rocket and again by furtherpenetration into the bore 31 shorting the rocket through rupturing pin82, the rod 76, the shorting piece 64, the washer 70, plug 56 and thebreech of the gun.

The rupturing pin 82 is formed with an enlarged head 84, tapered at 86to a shaft 88 smaller in diameter than the head 84. The enlarged head 84shears the rod 32 so that the projecting ends of the sheared rod willnot reach the smaller shaft 88 upon continued movement of the pin 82.The continued movement of pin 82 relative to plug 20 pushes the washer31 and wire 16 into the insulated plug 30 so that upon the breaking ofthe short by the electric tiring pin of the gun an insulated electricconduit from the firing pin to the rocket igniter is established whichwill immediately ignite the rocket.

In the use of the invention, the rocket is introduced into the gunpartially lying in the barrel and in the tray. Here it is secured to the(shell) case which is also on the tray by fitting the part 8 of therocket onto the bushing 12.

The case, consisting in the cylindrical wall, base 50 supporting thebase shorting plug and its attached electrode connecting rod 76 with itsattached rupturing pin 82, web 44 and sleeve 14 has been assembled andupon connection with the rocket lies in the tray. When the rocket'present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. Itis therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appendedclaims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specificallydescribed.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent ofthe United States is:

l. The combination of a breech loading gun with a rocket adapted to betired electrically from the gun and a casing fitting the breech of thegun comprising a sleeve,

formed with a side opening, said sleeve being attached at one end to thecasing and at the other end to the rocket, a shorting plug, housedwithin the sleeve and electrically connected to said rocket, said plugshorting the electrical connections to prevent accidental tiring of therocket, a ring rod mounted in said casing and extending through thecasing into the sleeve and terminating vwithinY the sleeve opposite theside opening of said sleeve to be manually connected to said shortingplug while in the breech, means carried by said tiring rod to unshortthe electrical connections from said rocket and connect said rocket tosaid tiring rod during the manual operation of connecting saidrlshorting plug yto said tiring rod, means insulating said tiring rodfrom the casing, spring biased means contacting said tiring rod and saidcasing, said spring biased means reshorting the rocket connectionsthrough the rod vand casing, said spring biased means being movable tounshort the rocket electrical connections and lire the rocket. 2. Acombination according to claim 1 wherein the means insulating the tiringrod is a tube of insulating material threaded to one end and extendinginto the sleeve to threadedly receive the shorting plug.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,726,053 Brown Aug. 27, 1929 2,494,256 Muskat et al Jan. l0, 19502,644,364 Nass July 7, 1953 2,721,913 Kent Oct. 25, 1955 2,817,272Gunder Dec. 24, 1957 2,821,137 Lyon Jan. 28, 1958 2,855,848 Books et alOct. 14, 1958

